Cloud computing has revolutionised the IT landscape. Fuelled by the recent rise in remote working, this trend is only set to continue with Gartner projecting that spending on public cloud services will exceed $1 trillion in 2027.
And with good reason. The advent of cloud has enabled IT teams across the world to transition to more agile operations, shifting away from traditional on-premise systems and physical hardware. This not only improves business agility and productivity, giving employees the opportunity to work from anywhere with an internet connection, but it can also help with bottom line, converting capital expenditure (CapEx) into operational expenditure (OpEx) through cloud’s ‘pay-as-you-go’ subscription-based modelling.
With this in mind, you could be forgiven for getting more than a little confused with some of the terminology. If you feel like everything is “as-a-service”, or you’re getting your multi-cloud mixed up with your hybrid, then our cloud definitions guide is here to help you. In this glossary we have featured just some of the many, many cloud-related terms out there to help you get to grips with the terminology as you embark upon your cloud journey.
Public cloud
Public cloud networks are offered by a third party and are made available to the public over the internet. Each customer’s data and applications remain hidden and segregated from other customers for security, but overall network resource is shared. Some examples of public cloud solutions that you might be familiar with are AWS and GCP. Public cloud can bring benefits such as improved reliability and security, faster time to market, business mobility and cost savings.
Private cloud
Private cloud refers to any cloud network that is available to a limited audience only and unlike public cloud, is not publicly available over the internet. Private cloud gives organisations a dedicated environment with no shared resources. In essence, you have the cloud to yourself which can bring the additional levels of security, data privacy and compliance which are required by governing bodies in industries such as finance, legal or healthcare, for example.
Hybrid cloud
The best of both worlds, hybrid cloud uses a mesh of public and private cloud infrastructures as part of a bespoke overall platform or solution. These are often complex environments utilising multiple vendors or suppliers and can be useful for organisations which need to take advantage of the benefits of both public and private cloud infrastructures, for example meeting regulatory or data sovereignty requirements whilst also reducing latency.
Multi-cloud
Similar to hybrid cloud, multi-cloud is the term used when an organisation uses two or more third-party public clouds in a single solution, depending on their particular needs. For example, a company could be using Microsoft Azure and AWS to deliver different elements of a solution. Multi-cloud can offer more flexibility, avoiding vendor lock-in whilst providing strong levels of security and data protection.
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)
IaaS is a type of cloud computing which enables users to access virtualised compute, storage and networking resources over the internet. IaaS solutions remove the requirement for on-site servers, and this can bring benefits through cost and maintenance reduction, better scalability, end user flexibility and business agility.
PaaS: (Platform as a Service)
PaaS goes one step further than IaaS in that the cloud provider manages the operating system, middleware, and other runtime environments, which would have fallen under the control of the client in the IaaS model. This cloud framework allows customers to create applications or business services, providing developers with the platform to build, deploy, and manage applications without the need to manage the underlying infrastructure of servers, storage, and networking functionality.
SaaS: (Software as a Service)
Probably the most well-known of the ‘As-a Service’ models, SaaS delivers an entire cloud-based application stack that clients can access via a web browser. With SaaS, the cloud provider controls all the underlying code, the infrastructure, and the platform, with the user only in control of the settings and configurations within the application. Some SaaS businesses you might be familiar with include Netflix, Spotify and Microsoft 365.
IoT (Internet of Things)
The Internet of Things is a network of devices which are embedded with sensors, software and network connectivity for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data over the internet. These devices can be anything from internet connected vehicles to smart home systems, internet enabled home devices such as lights and fridges, wearables such as Apple watches or fitness trackers, right through to security systems, manufacturing equipment and software such as supply chain management and inventory or stock control systems, to name a few.
Edge computing
Edge computing is a type of distributed computing. Data is processed at the source and analysed in real time, as it’s collected, at the edge of the network. This technology reduces latency for time-sensitive applications and provides support for IoT performance in low bandwidth environments, presenting huge opportunities for faster response times and improved business agility.
Serverless computing
Similar to public cloud, serverless computing is a cloud computing model which allocates machine resources on an as-used basis. With a serverless model, developers can build and run applications without having to manage any servers and pay only for the resources that they use. Just as with public cloud, the cloud service provider is responsible for the infrastructure, including provisioning, scaling, and maintenance.
This glossary has probably only just touched the sides of the vast array of new and ever-changing cloud-based terminologies which are out there, but it will hopefully work to give you a greater understanding of some of the main areas for consideration and the areas which you are most likely to come across on your cloud journey.